The Color Wheel of Art

I am likely way late to the game now, but over on Bluesky, folks have been sharing color wheels with their art, taking the place of each color. For some reason, I thought I didn't have enough variation in my work to meet each color need. After very little work, I realized I was wrong and that I had more than enough art to fill the wheel. Speaking of the wheel, here it is.

My art as a color wheel!

While this is my client work and I usually only work in color for my clients, I still wanted to do one of these with my personal work. Obviously, there are some issues, but I think it is funny. Here is the color wheel of art using my personal work.

A color wheel of art with no color!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

It is NOT Talent. IT IS HARD WORK.

For years, I was told I was "so gifted" and "so talented." Most artist I know have heard the same throughout their lives. What we do as artists is magic, a gift from the universe, or we were lucky enough to have an innate ability dropped in our lap that non-artists lack. That the results of what we do as artists is not a result of anything we actively do or did, but just luck that the universe chose to give us... and I say, BULLSHIT.

Do you look at a plumber and say, "You are so gifted, I could never do what you do," or "I can't even tighten a faucet (for artists, it is always they can't draw a stick figure or a straight line). Do you look at an accountant and marvel at their use of numbers? Do you tell your nurse or doctor you wish you had been born with their abilities? No? You don't? Then stop doing it to artists. Artists have spent their lives working on skills that result in our art. Like any other profession, skill, or ability, we have worked, worked, and worked some more to get to the level you are seeing us today. No magic, no cosmic gifts, only hard work. Do you know why this is? Because if it was a gift, if it was an extraordinary power, if it was anything except hard work, then we would all draw the same way, and we would be brilliant at it from the time we are toddlers. And images like the following would not exist.

1996 - 2016

The clear and unmistakable evidence that it is hard work and time.

I have been looking at this image a lot lately. In this time of rampant A/I theft, the vilification of artists in general, and a disdain for the educated, there has been a massive wave of non-artists speaking from a place devoid of any knowledge or understanding regarding art and artists. And to be frank, I am more than over it. Art, just like any skill, is learned and improved over years of hard work and study. If I had some magical power, both images above would be the same - or better. There would not be a massive difference in skill level across the board in every aspect of these images. I would have worked on D&D since I was born and Magic the Gathering since 1992. But that never happened because I lacked the skills and knowledge to make art for those projects until decades later.

By ignoring that art, like every other skill humans can learn, is mastered over decades of our life's work, you insult all we have done for our craft. You ignore the sacrifices we make, the late nights, the lost weekends, and the parties and celebrations we didn't attend. We are all born artists. It is not our fault you chose other paths. I had multiple opportunities to learn several different instrucments in my life, but I decided to focus on my art. This doesn't mean that I now vilify musicians and claim their music comes from the ether - and not the years they spent learning their craft. 

One last note, in the above image, it is important to know that much of the work that resulted in the second image took place in the six years before it. Over those twenty years, there was a lot of progress and backsliding, a lot of ups and downs. It was never a straight upward line of progress. But it does build upon itself, and while at the beginning it may seem overwhelming, it isn't, and never has been, impossible. It just takes time and effort. The only issue is that it takes each person a different amount of time and effort to get to where they want to go, and that - THAT is the most frustrating part of this. But the goal should never be mastery; it should always be that you are a little better than the day before, and that, more than anything, is an obtainable goal.

In the immortal words of Carlos Huante, who gave me my best review back in 2004, "DRAW MORE!"

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Some Thoughts on Reference and Getting Ideas

In this age of plagiarism algorithms, rampant theft of the arts, and nonartists speaking as if they know and understand the breadth and width of being an artist, I wanted to share some thoughts that have been rolling around in my head for a time. I have read and heard so much talk from people who haven't picked up a stylus to create since they were in kindergarten, expounding on how humans create and get ideas. Strangely, they claim that algorithms learn and create in the same exact way. As you know, historically, humans are not algorithms, nor are they machines. Any artist could tell you that all this talk, excuses, and claims that artists are somehow magic and we are keeping secrets is complete garbage.

Before we get too far, I would like to mention that if you have ten artists, you will have fifteen or more methods to do any one thing. We are all different, and our approaches are all completely different. Even if you have two artists making the exact same style of work, they will often have two completely disparate approaches to creating their work. I know this firsthand from learning from artists and working alongside artists at workshops. We all do this in our own unique way, with our own unique voice.

One thing that rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning was the narrative that the algorithms somehow create the way humans do. Somehow, humans can look at art, chop it up, and spit out something. Because that is what the algorithms are doing. The thing is, I have never looked at art to learn how to make art. I look at the world around me. My external inspiration comes from looking at the world around me. The plants, animals, buildings, objects, and everything else I come into contact with are my inspiration. Movies, shows, comics, games, and other artist's works have never been my source of ideas. Sure, I will look at how another artist solved a specific issue - such as how they handled the tensed muscles on a forelimb as a figure sliced with a sword or how dappled light was handled. If I have a problem to solve, I may look at the solutions of others to help them find my OWN solution, or I will simply spend the time and energy to work it out myself - looking at real-world reference. 

To put it bluntly, I have so many ideas inside me that I will never need to look at someone else's work to get ideas, even if I were to live five lifetimes. Every day, I come up with more ideas and more things that I would love to create. My observations of the world around me ground my ideas into a more believable reality, and they challenge me to push myself with each piece to be something entirely new for me. My feeling from the beginning with these algorithms is that there is a conceivably ZERO chance that it would generate anything for me that would be new, usable, or good enough to challenge my skill sets and imagination. My work is informed by my (soon to be 50) years on this planet as I live, dream, succeed, fail, laugh, cry, look, listen, and explore. That is a whole lot of variables that you will NOT find in a stolen slurry of art files made by the artists of the world. All that life and living goes into every new piece we make. There simply is no way to create my next work by only looking at everything I have already done. There are times I don't even know how I will meet the challenges I lay before myself. I have to spend a great deal of time thinking, doing thumbnails, and walking through the woods before I discover the solution that is needed.

That is a lot to chew on, so let's dive in and look at some specifics.

In 2013, I had an assignment to design and illustrate a mushroom monster. I looked at plenty of mushroom photos to help with the concepts, and I am familiar enough with mushrooms to draw them from my head. That said, I was not happy with what I was creating. I took a break and went for a ride on the trails with a friend. I came to an emergency stop and dismounted so that I could get a photo of these mushrooms. The moment I saw them, I knew I had my solution. I incorporated this idea of the clustered mushrooms into my designs and knew I had a winner. I submitted my more plain designs as well as the clustered design, and I do not think that there was ever a choice for the client. They wanted the more interesting, grounded, and realistic actually referenced design of the clustered mushrooms.

 

 The Carrion King

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

This is the result of using those real mushrooms in a fantasy creature. Are they 1:1 the same? Of course not. The photo of the mushroom that I took of real mushrooms was a launching pad for more interesting and complex designs that were within me. I needed that real world push to get there. 

I had shared this one before, in 2016, long before the algorithms began stealing from us. I shared some of the thoughts I have shared with you today. My thoughts and feelings on this have not changed. I know the artist I am and how I create art. And some of that comes from seeing something, like the top of this figure's helmet, and instantly seeing an entire creation in my head that takes that one little detail and explodes it into something completely different and new. 

And to give credit where credit is due:

Image from of the Razmafzar: Historical Persian Martial Arts Facebook Page.

This image was found in a photo gallery containing this image and many others.

These are screenshots from a video.

 

Smokestack

9 x 12 - Pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

© 2014 Christopher Burdett

I am not sure anyone could possibly think these two images are related or inspired at all by each other. But this is how I think. This is how I create. I needed a monster for my book that filled a role and had a specific look, and when I saw the pointy-tipped helmet, I knew I had the start of my creature. Before, when I mentioned that you would get fifteen results from ten artists, this would be the perfect example. If you were to give the photo of the warrior to ten artists and ask them to create something from it, you would get a diverse and unique assortment of images. Some would be various recreations of the figure, but there would be plenty, like mine, that race off to left field and are their own creation.

This is a coat hook on the backs of the bathroom doors in the GoogleWorks building in Reading, PA., where the IX convention is held each year. I stared at these hooks enough to know I needed to do something with them. I took the above photo and set it aside until the right moment arrived.

 

Goarrinn
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
5 x 5 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - SOLD
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

Jump ahead to working on book two of the Grand Bazaar series, and I knew it was time to use the hook. IX means a great deal to me, and to have a part of the physical building as part of one of the monster designs means the world to me. The hook is now the Goarrinn race.

 

Again, this is something I spent a lot of time looking at before I ever photographed it. I have walked by this paint splatter every day on my morning walks for years. I loved its organic shape and form. I knew I needed to do something with it, but I needed the right story, the right creature. I knew it led me to a rather unorthodox design, so I needed the correct story for the book before I could design the creature's look. I took the photo and then spent time coming up with the backstory, and once that was done, the Ut-Louw'Vat was born.

Ut-Louw'Vat
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
5 x 5 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - AVAILABLE!
© 2023 Christopher Burdett

Treated as if they were mere animals as their language is unknown to most, this ambassador was stuck in a livestock pin awaiting sale. It realizes that another being can understand its speech and pleads for assistance. Could an algorithm do something of this level?

 

Lastly, (I say lastly, but I have so many of these, but I think I have proven my point with these examples) I have a piece that went the opposite direction. A direction I often work in. I have spoken at length about how I shot reference of myself for all my assignments and personal work at the beginning of the concept phase. I act out, often with props and lighting, the creature I want to design. I move, play, and act out the creature in my head as I figure out how this thing would move, stand, and exist in the real world. Sometimes, I will only have a pose in my head, and I will then work it out in front of the camera until I have something that works with what is in my head. From there, I let my brain do its thing as the monster takes form. 

Eau-de-nil Elder 
11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Currently Available Grand Bazaar Originals

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Here is the end product of the above photo. I knew what I wanted, but I needed to ground it in something tangible to bring it together. I have many hundreds of images similar to the photo I used to make this creature. They all become things very much the opposite of what you see in the pictures.

I hope this sheds some light on how I work, what I look to for reference, and how I derive my ideas. At the end of the day, all of my creations are in response to the world around me. The good, the bad, and everything in between. My work is extremely autobiographical on so many levels, but the veneer of monstrous imagery gives it an abstraction that allows it to become fantastical. I would like to see an algorithm try that.

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

The Tale of a T-shirt

Storytime!

First things first, the visuals for this story are lost to time. Due to time and more time constraints, I will be illustrating this story with very crud and quick sketches and stock photography.

This story revolves around t-shirts and art!

This took place either in late middle school or early high school. The exact time doesn't matter to the story, but it was likely more of a high school thing. There was a fundraiser going on with a club or group I was associated with. As I was 'one of the art kids, ' the adults looked to me for stuff. The fundraiser was to print and sell t-shirts to raise money - entirely straightforward. It was decided to link it to Spring Break, so the shirts would be themed around a week-long break that none of us really participated in as we were children. I was given the task of illustrating the shirt. From the beginning, I was out of my comfort zone. The art needed to be something involving students, a cool car, water/beach stuff, and other expected Spring Break visual troupes. Straightforward now, in the late 80's, it was a Herculean effort for me.

I worked and worked and worked on this thing. I wasn't happy with any of it the entire time. The teacher I was working with on this project was not happy either. I wanted to do something a bit cartoony and fun, maybe something weird with monsters and aliens - something more me. The teacher didn't want anything of the sort. As this went along, I was backed into a corner. I was told to draw a *REAL* '57 Chevy with three students (two male students, one white and the second African American, one female student), some surfboards in the back of the car, and palm trees or two. I was not a car kid, so I had to hunt down photos of the requested car and make the best of things. At the time, I was nowhere near having the ability to look at something and then draw it from a different desired angle. So, when I used the reference of the car(s), I had to recreate it in a similar arrangement to the reference. 

When it was all said and done, I had a high school-level drawing of a '57 Chevy-like car from somewhere between a full profile to 3/4 view, several mangled approximations of high school students, and a palm tree or two. I covered everything in the assignment and got it done. While it was mostly a pencil drawing, there was some ink work to clean it up and make it a little better. There was no color on it at all, and I was not asked about what I intended for it. I was told that the drawing was perfect and that the shirts would be made with my art on them. This all felt weird to me, but as a kid, I was well-trained to defer to adults in all matters. So, the drawing left my hands, and I never saw it again.

What I submitted was better than this scribble, but likely not by much.

It was fine for a high school student, but it was not t-shirt quality by a long shot.

Jump ahead several weeks, and the shirts arrive at the school. The teacher responsible for all of this excitedly gets me to come to the classroom to see the shirts. She makes a big deal of revealing the shirt to me with some hand flourishes. I just stared, dumbstruck. She nudges me and, smiling, says, "Look at that! Your art! It looks so great on the shirt. You should be proud. YOU did that!"

The only problem was... what I was looking at was NOT my art. What I was looking at was the art made by a professional with decades of experience. It was a completely new drawing, and it was in full color. The angel was different, the car was different, the figures were different, the trees and surfboards were different, and there was the addition of a ground plane, sun, and clouds. The only connection between these two was the idea. The art of the shirt was not only good, but it was solid, and in no way was the work of a high school student. It was everything that my art wasn't. The kicker was whoever did the art and made the shirts cut out my signature from my drawing and put it on their art on the shirt. I was mortified. I was hurt, sad, confused, and not at all excited or happy about any of this. I didn't have the words for it, but it all felt wrong. I didn't make the art, yet my name was on it. I couldn't produce art of that level at the time, and seeing my name attached to it tore me up.

It was NOT my art.

It WAS leaps and bounds better than my art, and everyone thought it was mine.

The teacher proceeded to tell everyone that I was the artist for the shirt, and since my name was on it, everyone believed it to be true. I received so many compliments for the shirt, and there was a bit of buzz about others wanting me to do shirts for their club, group, or fundraiser. I was horrified and wanted it to all end. It felt wrong on every level. I tried to correct the situation with some, but that made it worse. I began to be accused of stealing the art, lying that it was mine, that I somehow secretly got my name on the shirt, and on and on. I just had to wait for people to forget about the shirt and move on before I could have any peace. I never saw my drawing again, and I got rid of my shirt long ago after I could no longer bear to look at it.

Art I didn't make was attributed to me, and it immediately felt wrong and bad. I was a kid, and I knew this. It wasn't awesome and great that people thought I was a skilled artist. It felt miserable. I was falsely being credited on the work of another, and I didn't even have any control or say in this. I am sure the nice artist at the shirt place thought they were doing some kid a solid by putting their name on it. But it was all a lie. And I paid for it. I simply do not understand finding joy, pleasure, or comfort in taking credit or ownership for something you did not make - especially if you do not have the ability to make it in the first place. I think about this from time to time, but over the last year, I have been thinking about it more and more.

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

CanvasRebel Interview

I was recently interviewed by the good folks over at CanvasRebel, and that interview is now live. I shared some thoughts on art and things of an artistic nature.  If you have the time, be sure to follow the links to give the article a read. There is a lot, and I mean a LOT of content, over there, so you might find all sorts of interesting content. But be sure to go click on my interview!

My CanvasRebel interview is now available!

That's all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Welcome to My Studio

The cat is out of the bag after this past weekend, so I would like to formally share a look at my studio. Over the past six months, we finally made a dream a reality. This is something we had talked about for seventeen years, but it took COVID, lockdown, and finally working entirely remotely. Something needed to happen because working from the kitchen table had finally gotten old after two years. Not to mention I needed a better-dedicated space to make my art. 

The last six months had a lot of ups and downs when it came to getting the studio finished, but in the end, it all turned out better than I had hoped. For those wondering, we did hire people to do the work since this was all out of our skill sets. There were a lot of plates to keep spinning in all of this as we were working to have the studio completed before I had to have my office at the day job emptied. Management was super supportive and accommodating as they gave me as much extra time to get my personal items packed and moved. That move was in September, and since then, I have been working on getting things fully set up, moved in, unpacked, and back to work. It was easy to get settled into the day job work, but to start making art again took a little bit of adjusting. I am glad to say I am adjusted, and art is being made in the studio! That is enough talk about the studio; here are some images of it.

The left side of the studio is where the work takes place.

The right side of the studio is for display and storage.

The ceiling remains open giving vertical space, access to some additional storage, and a nice space to hang some ships. More will be added in the fullness of time.

 

There had been some concern about where my action figures would go. Well, that has been taken care of.

 

Here are two images that should give a better impression of the entire space.

Lastly, next to my drawing table are two shelves that contain everything I have worked on for the gaming industry and beyond. Just a few items over the past seventeen-plus years.

Here are some additional images of the studio taking shape, including these first images of what it looked like before the work began. The space had been hit by termites a while back, and we had been treating it since. 

This space had the potential; we needed only to unlock it.

Jump ahead to after a lot of work has been done. The moment the walls were up, the space began to change. The space also felt bigger once the walls were in.

I tried not to look at the progress at the end of each day, but it was hard to resist as things took shape.

After months of work, the space was ready to move into. After all that work by others, it was time for me to start my work. It was more involved and took longer than I expected, but it is the way of these things. Here was the space right before I moved everything in. I had moved some of my contributor copies out, but there was still much to do. 

White walls and plenty of space, soon I will fill it with things that please me.

It has already proven to be a great space to work in, and was something I did not know I was missing. I now have a private space to think, read, make art, and work. I look forward to making a lot of art here.

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

The First Portfolio Leave Behind - circa 2004

I have something a little different for you today. While recently cleaning and organizing the home office, we came upon a relic from the past, well, actually a stack of them. Way back in 2004, while we were still out in Los Angeles, I was trying to expand my career options and was attending events like the San Diego Comic Con to talk with art directors and having interviews with other effects shops in the attempts to find additional freelance work and full-time opportunities. While I had somewhat steady work at the time with the effects shop I moved out there to work with, it was always a feast of famine, and the lean times were hard. Don't get my wrong, I was working on massive shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly - not to mention movies and other TV shows. But work was unpredictable, and at the end of the day, it was a hostile work environment, and I was not artistically fulfilled and was looking elsewhere.

To that end, I had a portfolio that contained samples of work. After my review, I would offer a leave behind folder that contained my contact information, resume, and a selection of what I considered the best of my work at the time. Looking back at this now, I would think I would cringe or be embarrassed, but neither has happened. I see in this a beginning. A starting point. And, after sixteen years of hard work, at the end is a career of making monsters for some of the biggest games in the world and a book that I wrote and filled with monsters set in a world that I created.

We all start somewhere. Some of us are ahead of others, and there are those ahead of us. There is luck, happy chances, hard work, sacrifice, and living that will happen, and in the end, we all end up somewhere else from where we began. I like having this object because it is a concrete moment in time for where I was and who I was as an artist. Sure, I would have loved to have been more skilled than I was at that time. I am sure I would have had many more opportunities. But at the end of the day, I was not ready as a person and as an artist. I had not put in my time and hard work. That said, I was about to kick everything into overdrive. A year from when I was handing these out, I was working for Wizards of the Coast, creating miniature turnarounds for Dreamblade. In that year, we left Los Angeles, I started working a steady day job as a designer, and I stopped worrying about trying to appease others and started focusing on my own work. It all changed in June of 2005, but it began in June of 2004 with this leave behind.

 Brown, black, and a little orange... now that screams hire me for my design sense.

Inside you will find my business card, resume, and a selection of my work.

 Page one of the art samples. I think they speak for themselves. The bottom left was the one that Carlos Huantes groaned the loudest over when he reviewed my portfolio.

 Page two of the art samples. Top right was a movie poster I was working on for the producer/agent and the scriptwriter. I never got paid, and nothing came of this horror western. The bottom design is still one of the favorite things that I did for Buffy/Angel. Production nitpicked the design until it was ruined and then clapped themselves on the back about what I good job they did. I still have the original design, and I am still happy with it.

 Page one of the resume. Nothing like trying to make a little seem like a WHOLE lot. In the beginning, you will do that. Need to make it look like there is more going on than there really is.

 Page two of the resume. This is an accurate and uninflated list of the things I had worked on at this time in my life. While this information is still on my current resume, I sometimes think about removing or heavily condensing it. That day may come eventually.

As I have said above, this is a moment in time for me now. This is not an embarrassment or something to be ashamed of, this is who I was at that time. I think it is crucial to remember things like this. It shows that we do not know where we will end up or when it will happen. Do not lose faith in yourself. We never stop working and pushing ourselves, and you never know where you will find yourself.

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Top Nine Instagram Images for 2019

One last post for 2019. Here are my top nine images that I shared this year as per the interactions on Instagram. It is always interesting to see what filters to the top each year. Or possibly the image was just posted at the right time to get a lot of eyes on it. And, by the way, if you did not already know, I have an Instagram page you can follow! Here are the top nine.

My top nine images on IG for 2019!

That is all for another exciting year on the blog, see you back here in 2020! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Thoughts on Creature Design - FSU Presentaion Relection

On Wednesday afternoon, I did a short lecture/presentation to a class at Florida State University regarding creature design. I also forgot to take any photos, so it will only be words today. Kieth Roberson, a former professor of mine, asked me to come to talk to his animation students. The students are working on creature designs that they will model and then use motion capture to animate. How things have changed since I graduated twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, it was a constant fight to show that monsters were ART. Now they have a class where students are designing them and animating them.

It has been several years since I have been back in the art building of FSU, but I can not tell you when the last time was. It was a little strange being back, as one feels whenever you return to a place that has such time-specific memories. It was the same, yet oddly different. Subtle things were out of place. Similiar faces in the crowds to my memories, though the people in my memories have been gone from there twenty years. I expected to see some familiar faces only to remember they were dead. The usual mix of emotions when you return to a place from your past.

I felt like I flew through my presentation, but it was an hour or more. I shared designs and process for creature work, both personal and for clients. Talked about designing for film, games, and books. Not sure if I was boring anyone to tears, but I would have murdered to have been in a presentation like the one I gave twenty years ago. With all of the opportunities and options now available with online course, week-long workshops, conventions, and information at your fingertips, it is amazing how younger artists, as I was, don't know where to turn to for guidance. Not that they were clueless, not at all, when I was in school, there were nearly no options, now there are thousands. It can become overwhelming. I hope I did not overwhelm even more.

An hour was by no means long enough. If I should do this again, I will need to allow for more time to talk, look at students work, and take part in a critique. My schedule was not very flexible on Wednesday, and I regret having to run out the door when I did. Hopefully, I will be able to return to spend more time working directly with the students. It has taken me twenty years to feel like I am a competent creature designer. That can not be conveyed in a hours presentation. 

Not really sure if this post ended up going where I meant it to, but here we are all the same. Whenever I find myself in a school or instructional situation, I feel a pull to get involved and start sharing my experience. I might go as far as to say I feel like I want to instruct or guide in these situations. Always something to think about.

* UPDATE - I checked and I was at FSU way back in 2009 when I gave another small presentation. Apparently, it has been ten years since I had been over on campus.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you next week! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Working Conditions

Where, how, and under what conditions I work have been mentioned a time or two, but I wanted to circle back around to this topic again since I have been doing a lot of atypical work lately. That atypical work is, of course, all the writing I have been doing on The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia.

When I am drawing, painting, or visually designing, I must have some sort of exterior stimulus to keep the distracting bits of my brain occupied. This consists of listening to music, podcasts, a television program, or movie. If it is a podcast I can be something new to me, but if it is any of the other options I must love it, and I must know it like the back of my hand. Otherwise, it will become an instant distraction. At my drawing table, I will usually have my phone off to one side with the media playing on it. Headphones or earbuds are a must. At my computer, I will have media playing on the computer or again on my phone, which will be directly under my Cintiq. In both situations, my phone is close another for me to glance at without it becoming a distraction. I have worked this way for many years, and I find it beneficial to my productivity.

When I am writing, I have learned I need the complete opposite. If I am working up one of these blog posts, I need to have all of the media silenced so that I can focus on writing. My need for silence when I am working on the book has increased to the point I need to wear earplugs as I am writing. I must block out any and all audio distractions so that I can completely concentrate on the writing. I am not sure why this is the case, I am simply glad to have discovered this that this works best for me. It is rather funny that I will be working in a completely empty house with no ambient sound, and I will still need to put in earplugs. As long as it ensures I make it to the end of the book, I am happy to wear them.

What are your working conditions? What do you need to do or not do while you are working? Leave them in the comments! 

That's all for another exciting week on the blog. With a hurricane approaching, I am not sure what next week will be like yet, but hopefully, I will be back here on Wednesday after the holiday weekend. Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: The Art of Dungeons and Dragons - Now Out!

I am a little late in getting this one the blog but better late than never! EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: The Art of Dungeons and Dragons is now out and available for streaming everywhere you like to purchase streamable movies. As you may remember from previous posts that I am featured in the documentary, and I talk about making monster art. There is a really nice review on Geek and Sundry that shares images and clips from the film. Speaking of clips, one of them is me talking about monsters! RAWR!

Just some idiot, talking about monsters while ruining a really awesome documentary

Kelley Slagle, Seth C. Polansky, and Brian Stillman did a tremendous job on the documentary, and I can not say enough good things about it. I HIGHLY recommend you getting a copy and checking it out this weekend. You will not regret it!

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Yet Another Unexpected Installation

Please note that this post is going up very late and directly follows a post from February. This also relates to some of the other installations I have shared. Now that is all squared away, a new installation appeared after the one in February was quickly destroyed. It lasted a little longer, but in time, it too vanished. I imagine that is the nature of these things and intended from the start. This installation built off the previous installation remains as well as added a couple new elements. This is currently the last installation I have discovered. Hopefully, more will appear soon. Here is a look at the installation.

The largest chunk of the Native American bust was set back up in the corner with something on it.

Looks like a birdcage with a baseball in it?

GAH! IT'S EVIL! Just the way I like it.

On the other side, a phone was incorporated into the surrounding in a very clever way.

This call is for you! My photo of the hashtag was super blurry, and I don't really remember what was written on it.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here next week! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

STILL Too HOT of Tumblr

At the end of last year, I mentioned that a large number of my Tumblr posts had been mistakenly flagged as having adult content. That was sure a lot of fun, and everything was eventually dealt with, and nothing was removed from the site. To be honest, I had not been using Tumblr a lot before the adult content purge, and I did not see myself doing a lot after the purge. That said I recently posted again in the effort to jump start my activity over there again. What do I find when I go to post? MORE of my content that contains no adult content has been once again flagged as having adult content. This is not a game I signed up to play with Tumblr. Oh well, everything has been dealt with, again. I am still not using Tumblr. Life goes on. Here is the new batch of offending posts.

All of these posts and more can be found on my Tumblr... for now.

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com